FEATURE
Pushed to the Edge #11: Birth, Death, and Resurrection
Public reaction to Nintendo Wii; Clover Studios closed down; Sam and Max return!
Sam & Max Reborn!
I'm as happy for the return of as I am sad for the loss of Clover. Originally part of the late '80s alternative comics boom (and subsequent crash) the dog and rabbit team hit gaming in 1993 thanks to LucasArts. Sam & Max Hit the Road was one of the best adventure games, period. Rumors of a return have been as perennial as Duke Nukem Forever jokes, and as fruitful.
A sequel, Sam & Max: Freelance Police, was originally announced by LucasArts in 2002, and summarily cancelled in 2004. But members of the Freelance Police team, who also had experience on other LucasArts adventure successes like Grim Fandango and Monkey Island, formed Telltale Games. The company continued the adventure tradition with the first two episodes of a game based on Jeff Smith's comic book Bone in 2005.
 Sam and Max  Sam and Max |
And this week Culture Shock, Telltale's first chapter in a new Sam & Max story, hit the GameTap service. (The game will be available through the Telltale website on November 1.) Based on the first two thirds, it's everything fans wanted: very funny, with good puzzles and a wry, slacker sort of take on pop culture. The new semi-3D look works quite well, especially with the beautiful new character models.
Since we're already halfway through October, I'm happy to predict that Culture Shock will be one of the best PC games of the year. And unlike other PC greats (like Company of Heroes, which requires a supercomputer to play), Culture Shock requires only a modest system: an 800mhz processor, 256 RAM and a 32MB video card. GameTap subscribers shouldn't have waited to finish this article to snag the game, and everyone else is encouraged to check out Telltale's $8.95 download on November 1.
Pushed to the Edge is a regular commentary covering elements of the video game industry that cause elation, dismay, outrage, or some combination of the above.
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Posted: 18 Oct 2006